Leicester bus passengers fighting to get bus service improved

Bus passengers have launched a petition supported by 1,000 people to improve a bus route between a Leicestershire residential area and the city centre. Locals are unhappy that their bus service has been reduced from four buses an hour to three from Braunstone Frith and the centre of Leicester.

Many passengers are also complaining that since the timetable change was introduced in August, the service has become increasingly unreliable with some passengers reporting a wait of up to an hour for a bus which should arrive every 20 minutes. Another complaint of the new service is that buses are often over full with many passengers being left behind and forced to wait for another bus to arrive.  

The petitioners were due to present their case along with their petition, which has been signed by 1,000 supporters, to Leicester County Council this week. The passengers are calling for First, the company that operates the route, to improve the punctuality of the buses. They will also request that First reinstate the four buses an hour service and also bring back the original bus route which included a stop at Leicester Hospital.   

First have defended their decision to reduce their route down to 3 buses, the reason stated for the reduced service was falling passenger numbers. The bus company also commented on the issue of timekeeping and said that they intend to run “punctuality checks” on the service, and said they were also considering using double-decker buses during peak times to reduce overcrowding on bus services.